The Beginning of the Beginning
by Her-mee-o-ninny
Summary: The Beginning of the Beginning tells of the Marauders and their adventures at Hogwarts. During one of their adventures however, one Marauder is side tracked by a beautiful red-head wdazzling green eyes and love blossoms. (First JL fic i've written) plz R
1. Chapter One: Aboard the Hogwarts Express

Title: The Beginning of the Beginning  
Author: Her-mee-o-ninny (you can call me Danni, though)  
Rating: PG-13 (just in case)  
Summary: The Beginning of the Beginning tells of the Marauders and  
their adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
During one of their quite amusing adventures however, one Marauder  
is side tracked by a beautiful red-head with dazzling green eyes.  
Love blossoms and I think you all know what will be waiting for  
them in many years to come.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, however the amazing JK  
Rowling does. All that I claim as my own is the plot and various  
characters that are not found in the Harry Potter series.  
A/N: I really hope you all like this fanfic...it's my first  
attempt at a J/L fanfic, so I'm a little apprehensive. PLEEZ tell  
me what you think. I would love to get your reviews.  
  
The Beginning of the Beginning  
Chapter One: Aboard the Hogwarts Express  
  
Platform 9 ¾ was buzzing with excitement. Old friends were found in tight groups catching up on old times. Parents were seen embracing their children, hoping that it will last for the next few months. Apprehensive new students cautiously board the Hogwarts Express in attempt to find a welcoming compartment. An average sized boy with unruly black hair and chocolate eyes framed by the glasses he wore was found amongst these students, however he was far from apprehensive. James Potter had been waiting for this day practically his whole life. He boarded the train with the utmost confidence and found an empty compartment to store his trunk and his snowy owl, Albatus.  
  
James had already said his goodbyes to his parents in hopes to make as many friends as he could. He was always quite popular among the students at his school back at home, but in his eyes they were expendable. James had always been somewhat arrogant, however most of his friends had simply used him to become popular, as well. He was admired for his better-than-decent looks and his family's wealth, never for his charming personality or his surprising success in academics. He knew they were not what anyone would consider true friends. He simply wanted for this day to come, when he knew he would make friends who would last forever. James sat back and relaxed until the inevitable visit came from another new student entering their first year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as he would be.  
  
Soon enough, James heard a quick knock on the compartment door and it slid open. There before him stood a rather good-looking boy his age, (A/N back off people, I ain't makin James gay...it's the only way I could describe...well...you'll see who it is...) with long black hair, and a charming smile that rivaled James'. He was surrounded by girls simply staring at him, some exchanging excited whispers about the boy that stood before him. The boy waved the girls off and slid the compartment door shut before locking it.  
  
"Finally!" the boy sighed. His charming, yet mischievous smile appeared on his face once again. "Ah, I see I have company! May I introduce you to the one and only Sirius Black? Well, no I suppose there must be another Sirius Black lying around somewhere, but you still get the point."  
  
Sirius extended his hand, which was shaken by James, in a very business- like manner.  
  
"Very nice to meet you Mr. Black. It is of course my pleasure to meet such a fine gentleman such as yourself," James answered with a mockingly serious composure. The two boys both burst out into laughter.  
  
"Well, it's nice to know someone here has my kind of sense of humor." Sirius said after halting his laughter.  
  
"You said it." Said James through stifled laughter.  
  
Just at that moment, the compartment door slid open once again. A small red-head presumably the same age as the boys step in, looking rather frazzled. The boys gave her an inquisitive look.  
  
"Ah, I see we have a visitor young James. A red-haired maiden I see before my eyes, I believe. Hmm, now what should we do about this rather rude intrusion, young James? Shall we perhaps this maiden to knock thrice next time? My dear lady, his young gentleman and I could have-" Sirius was cut off.  
  
"Oh do shut-up!" the girl retorted in an annoyed manner. "You know you weren't doing anything important. Other people like myself are in desperate need of finding a compartment and you two enjoy locking up a compartment all to yourselves. Oh yes! How rude of me!"  
  
With that, the girl threw her trunk up into the bin and sat down with a "HMPH!".  
  
The boys were certainly taken aback. Sirius had dropped his mocking tone of a snotty knight, and pretended to be highly offended by the girl's words. He sat down opposite her, with a "HMPH!", and stared out the window, of course before attempting to fight the grin caused by his own amusement. James, however, was taken aback for a different reason. From the moment the girl entered the compartment, he hadn't taken his eyes off of her. He was simply mesmerized by her, which seemed ridiculous since she hadn't come off as being a rather nice person. He found himself slowly backing up to sit next to Sirius, but he still hadn't taken his eyes off of the red-head that sat sulking before him.  
  
"WILL you stop STARING!?" the girl said to James, forcefully.  
  
"Oh!, Er, sorry. Ididn'tmeanto," he finished rather quickly. He crossed his arms and pretended to be highly interested in his shoes.  
  
A smile crawled onto the girl's face as she wiped the unnoticeable tears, which had been trailing down her face. She let out a small chuckle. James looked up, with a confused look. Sirius turned to face the two other inhabitants in the compartment, completely amused.  
  
"Uh..." James started, a goofy smile appearing on his face.  
  
The red-head girl chuckled again, her dazzling green eyes sparkling. "Oh, I'm sorry, I, I oh, never mind. It's doesn't matter. I didn't mean to snap at you. It was just these girls that upset me and that's why I barged in on you two." She started to get up. "I-I'll just leave."  
  
James abruptly stood up and placed a hand on her arm. She looked at him inquisitively. Sirius smiled his mischievous smile.  
  
"I, er, I'm sorry. I don't want-I didn't mean to make it seem like you were unwelcome, and I'm sure Sirius didn't EITHER," James glared at Sirius, while he only gained a charming smile back. He turned back to the girl who had seemed to calm down considerably from his touch.  
  
"Oh, alright. I suppose I'll stay. Thank you, uh, James, wasn't it?" she answered.  
  
"Yeah, James Potter. Oh, and this is-"  
  
"Sirius Black, yes I know. It's impossible not to hear the annoying chatter from the girls outside your compartment. Anyways, I'm Lily, Lily Evans." They shook hands and resumed their seats.  
  
"Well, it's very nice to meet you Lily Lily Evans," James answered with a charming smile. Lily looked between the two boys and smirked.  
  
"Have you two met before this?" she asked.  
  
Sirius finally decided to talk. "Nope, just me before you showed up actually. Why?"  
  
"Because you both have the same ridiculous smile," she giggled.  
  
"Oh..." James said, wiping the smile off of his face.  
  
Just then, the compartment door opened, yet again. There stood a boy, most likely their age, with scruffy brown hair, rather tattered robes, and a pleading look.  
  
"Uh, do you mind if I join you? I haven't found one compartment that's not full and the train'll be leaving soon."  
  
"Well kind sir, I-" Sirius started.  
  
"Oh please don't start that again!" Lily said rolling her eyes. "Ever act normal, Sirius?"  
  
"Nope!" he answered enthusiastically. James chuckled.  
  
"No problem, come sit down," James said. The boy stored his trunk and sat next to Lily.  
  
"I'm Lily Evans. And that is James Potter across from you and the one still sporting that ridiculous smile is Sirius Black." Sirius pretended to be highly offended for a second time and huffily looked out the window.  
  
"Oh! So YOUR Sirius Black," the boy said.  
  
"Yup! That's me!...why?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Well, all I could hear outside your compartment was "Sirius Black this and Sirius Black that and Sirius Black is sooo hot, I want him sooo bad".........quite annoying really..." the boy answered quite seriously before smiling. (Of course he had gone all out and mocked the girls' squeaky voices, as well, but he had ended as though he were quite serious) Sirius and James burst into laughter, while Lily giggled uncontrollably.  
  
"Well, I see I've made a fool of myself already. My work is done," he said through his own laughter. "I'm Remus Lupin."  
  
"Well, well, Remus. You are certainly welcome here after that performance." Sirius stated. James nodded, still sporting his grin. Lily was still giggling.  
  
Finally, the train started moving and they were on their way to Hogwarts, not knowing of the adventures that they would share for years to come.  
  
A/N: Ok, it's your turn now! Pleez Review! I need to know if I should continue with this or if I'm a complete failure, lol. Lata peeps!! 


	2. Chapter Two: Feline Frenzy

Title: The Beginning of the Beginning  
Author: Her-mee-o-ninny (you can call me Danni, though)  
Rating: PG-13 (just in case)  
Summary: The Beginning of the Beginning tells of the Marauders and  
their adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
During one of their quite amusing adventures however, one Marauder  
is side tracked by a beautiful red-head with dazzling green eyes.  
Love blossoms and I think you all know what will be waiting for  
them in many years to come.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, however the amazing JK  
Rowling does. All that I claim as my own is the plot and various  
characters that are not found in the Harry Potter series.  
A/N: To my one reviewer so far (Lady Flame-er), thank you so  
much! That had to have been the best compliment I could have  
gotten. Thank You!!! Anyways, in this chapter, the students  
arrive at Hogwarts and we meet the expected characters, as well as  
at least one unexpected character. Hope ya like it! And Pleez  
review!  
  
The Beginning of the Beginning Chapter Two: Feline Frenzy  
  
The train came to a halt. They had arrived at Hogsmeade station. James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily were surprised at how fast the journey had gone by. They had never found themselves at a loss for words. The foursome had talked about literally ever subject that they could think of, while swapping chocolate frog cards and playing exploding snap. James, coming from a rather wealthy family, had bought almost the entire cart of candy, which they had devoured in no time.  
  
To Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus were quite amusing. They had met merely hours before and the boys had already begun to treat eachother like brothers. Most of the time, Lily would sit and watch or listen to them because they were so entertaining on their own. The bigger reason was that she was indeed a muggle born. She had discovered the hard way that a different type of prejudice was among wizards. A group of either sixth or seventh year girls had deduced that she was a muggle born from the looks of her parents and tripped her on her way to the train. She would have been fine if they had not called her a mudblood and brought an even larger group of students over to simply mock her. Lily eventually had gathered her things and ran onto the train with tear-filled eyes. She had not mentioned she was a muggle born to the boys in her compartment because she had come to discover that they were all "pure bloods", as wizards called themselves, through their stories they told of their past years of mischief.  
  
When they got up to gather their things and get off the train, Sirius and Remus continued their discussion of Quidditch, while James seemed to be off in his own world. He couldn't stop thinking about the girl that stood before him. She was beautiful, not just counting her looks, but her personality, as well. She wasn't like the girls he had met. Most girls he knew would talk non-stop or just stare at him lovingly. They were just utterly annoying. Lily, on the other hand, was easy to be around. She was fun to talk to, when she actually did talk with the boys, and her presence was simply soothing to him. He barely knew her, and he already felt a close bond with her. Just then he noticed Lily looking around with a worried expression.  
  
"What's wrong, Lily?" James asked.  
  
"Oh, where is he? I don't even remember bringing him on the train!" Lily said, more to herself than James.  
  
"Lily?" James asked again.  
  
"Oh, James! I'm sorry. I can't find Crookshanks anywhere!" she answered, while frantically searching the compartment.  
  
"Crookshanks?" James asked, slightly confused.  
  
"Crookshanks, my cat. I don't even remember bringing him on the train!" she repeated. "Ugh! It was those girls on the platform! They got me so worked up that I just ran onto the train. What if I left him on the platform? He could be anywhere!"  
  
James didn't know what to say. What girls was she talking about? "Uh, I dunno Lils, we'll find him. He's probably around here somewhere."  
  
"Oh, thank you, James." Lily said, giving James a quick hug before hurriedly walking out of the compartment to search for Crookshanks. James just stood there after she left, in a sort of daze. 'What am I doing? I need to help find Lily's cat. Wait! I don't even know what it looks like! How am I going to find it?' he thought to himself. He decided to bring the rest of their luggage outside and then return to the train to hopefully find Crookshanks, or at least Lily. 'Jeez, how much luggage does a girl NEED?' He piled everything up and carefully walked out of the compartment, hidden behind the luggage he was carrying. He was almost to the exit when he stepped on something and heard a shriek. James dropped the luggage from his shock and turned around to see what he stepped on.  
  
"Crookshanks?" he asked. 'Well, that was stupid, James. Yes, he's obviously going to jump up and down and answer 'Yup! That's me!', nice one' he thought to himself. The cat in front of him, however seemed to glare at him at first and then walked right up to him and started to purr. "I guess it is you then. C'mon, Lily's been searching for you. You have her worried sick."  
  
James, somehow, picked up the luggage once again and strode off the train with Crookshanks trailing behind him. He spotted Lily running around, apparently asking students whether they had seen Crookshanks or not. James smiled and went to drop his and Lily's things off onto the enormous pile of luggage off to the side. Crookshanks followed him.  
  
"What are you doing? Go see Lily! She's the one that's close to hysterics trying to find you!" James said to the cat. Crookshanks just stared at James before jumping up onto him, forcing James to catch him. "Fine, fine. I'll bring you to her then."  
  
James came up behind Lily and tapped her on her shoulder. She turned around to reveal that she was, indeed, close to hysterics. Her eyes were bloodshot from trying to hold back tears. 'Wow, she must really love this cat,' he thought.  
  
"Crookshanks!" Lily exclaimed. "James! Where did you FIND him!?"  
  
"Well, he sort of found me. You might want to check his tail. I kind of stepped on it on my way off the train."  
  
Lily snorted and took Crookshanks from him before giving him another hug and to James' surprise a quick peck on the cheek. She blushed and turned away to hide her smile. James fell back into a daze, but was quickly taken back to reality.  
  
"C'mon, James. We have to be with the first years! The boats are leaving soon! Let's find Sirius and Remus," she said. Lily then grabbed James' hand and then ran off to the boats.  
  
"Oy! James! Lils! Over here!" yelled Sirius. James and Lily quickly sat between Sirius and Remus in one of the boats.  
  
"Are yeh ready ter go now, Miss Evans?" asked an enormous man, whom James hadn't somehow noticed.  
  
"Yes, Hagrid! Thank you for waiting!" Lily responded. James just stared at the man. He couldn't be a normal man. He was far too tall and too wide, as well. But, he couldn't be a giant. Giants are stories tall. Half giant, maybe? He'd have to see. If he was though, he was unsually nice for someone with giant blood.  
  
"Yer cat'll be'ave won' 'e?" Hagrid asked.  
  
"Oh, yes, Crookshanks will be fine." Lily answered.  
  
"Alrigh' then! We're off!" Hagrid said. The boats began their slow journey across the lake towards Hogwarts.  
  
A/N: Sorry about that, I was gonna put in the Welcoming Feast in this chapter too, but I decided to cut it short. This chapter kinda sucked...sorry. I hope ya like how I put Crookshanks in! hehe! Ya, I was rushing this chapter cuz I'm sleeping over my friend's house tonight and then I hafta go over my dad's for the weekend. I should be able to get another chapter out by Saturday. Next chapter'll have the Welcoming Feast, and a few other things, most likely including the boys' first night of mischief. Don't worry, though. This IS obviously a J/L fanfic, so you will see them together soon. I was actually thinking of eventually jumping forward to their fifth year because according to the 5th HP book, Lily and James aren't even together by their 5th year. Just a thought. Tell me what ya think! PLEEZ Review!!!!!! hehe 


	3. Chapter Three: The Welcoming Feast

*Title*: The Beginning of the Beginning  
  
*Author*: Her-mee-o-ninny (you can call me Danni, though)  
  
*Rating*: PG-13 (just in case)  
  
*Summary*: The Beginning of the Beginning tells of the Marauders and their adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During one of their quite amusing adventures however, one Marauder is side tracked by a beautiful red-head with dazzling green eyes. Love blossoms and I think you all know what will be waiting for them in many years to come.  
  
*Disclaimer*: I do not own Harry Potter, however the amazing JK Rowling does. All that I claim as my own is the plot and various characters that are not found in the Harry Potter series.  
  
*A/N*: Thank you all so much for the reviews!! You guys are my inspiration and w/o your reviews, I just wouldn't be able to write.  
  
Lady Jellybean ~ Thanx. Don't worry, you'll get glimpses of Peter starting in this chapter actually. Lady Flame-er ~ Yup, Crookshanks. That's my theory anyways. It would explain why in the third HP book Crookshanks seems to know Sirius. Marauder23 ~ Awee, thanx. I was hoping I'd be able to write a good J/L fanfic. And of course you'll find out how his head "got smashed. Hehe. Well done! Rockluver ~ Thanx a bunch! I should be updating pretty quickly, but maybe not this weekend because I have a term paper to write for history and one for English, plus other random homework, too. Grr...homework isn't fun...  
  
The Beginning of the Beginning  
  
Chapter Three: The Welcoming Feast  
  
The first years were gathered outside the Great Hall, waiting anxiously for the Sorting Ceremony to begin. Lily was quite apprehensive, especially after the various comments James, Sirius, and Remus kept dropping, however they didn't realize that she had caught every single knowing glance and mischievous smile they exchanged. Lily simply didn't know what to expect. She noticed that she wasn't the only person who seemed worried. A small boy with mousy brown hair and a timid look was found apart from the rather large group of students. He had noticed Lily looking at him and stared back. She had an unusual feeling of uncertainty from his stare. Was it fear? Her attention was suddenly captured by a small shriek from a group of small girls huddled together exchanging worried looks and whispering their concerns to each other. James had realized Lily's apprehension, smiled, and wrapped an arm around her like she was an old companion.  
  
"No worries, Lils. Put that smile back on. We don't want to have to send you over to them do you?" he said, nodding his head indicating the group of girls she had just been observing. Lily smiled up at James and received a charming grin back before James reluctantly let go of Lily due to the sound of a stern woman's voice.  
  
"Attention, please. Quiet down, students. We will be opening the doors to the Great Hall momentarily. The Sorting Ceremony will begin shortly after. I just a have a few words. You all are to be on your best behavior. Oh, yes, and drop any worried you have. I assure you that any rumors you have heard concerning the Ceremony are indeed false." Sirius let out a defeated sigh. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Black. Have I ruined your fun?" the woman asked seriously. Lily still could have sworn she saw the making of a smile forming along the thin line that the woman's mouth formed. "Ah, yes, it's about time." And with that, she turned and the enormous doors to the Great Hall opened to reveal the anxious first years to the remaining students and staff of Hogwarts.  
  
Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus exchanged excited smiles and followed their fellow students into the Hall. Soon, they came to a halt in front of the staff table and an out-of-place stool with an incredibly worn hat place atop it. At that point, a thought had just popped into Lily's head. She nudged James who looked down at her with concern.  
  
"James?" she whispered. "What if we're not sorted into the same house?"  
  
James simply smiled and repeated, "No worries, Lils." Lily smiled back and they both returned their gaze up at the staff table where the Headmaster stood, looking down upon them through half-moon spectacles.  
  
"To some, welcome to your first year at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To the rest, welcome back! I expect that we will have a very interesting year, as most are, but I won't stand here and bore you when we have a sorting to be done! Professor McGonnagol?" he acknowledged the stern woman who had addressed the first years just moments before.  
  
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," she returned. "When I call your name, please step up and sit on this stool to be sorted. Allen, Candace," she called out.  
  
A tall girl with light brown hair and brilliant blue eyes stepped forward. The ragged hat was placed on top of her head after she had sat on the stool. To most of the first years' amazement, including Candace's, the hat came to life. It seemed to be muttering words, however it was impossible to hear. After a short moment, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!". Candace smiled, hopped off the stool, and joined the Gryffindors at their house table. Many of the older students had begun chatting animatedly with the girl and she seemed to fit in quite well. She was certainly not like the girls Lily had bumped into before boarding the train.  
  
Lily hadn't noticed she had missed several students being sorted because at that point, Professor had called out, "Black, Sirius". Sirius turned to smile at his friends before walking nonchalantly up to be sorted. The hat seemed to contemplate for some time before shouting once again, "GRYFFINDOR!". Sirius jumped down and winked at Lily, James, and Remus, before joining Candace at the Gryffindor table. 'Oh! I hope we're all in Gryffindor...' Lily thought to herself.  
  
Next, Professor McGonnagol shouted, "Bodge, Jacob!" who was sorted into "HUFFLEPUFF!". Lily went off into a daze for quite some time thinking about relatively nothing. After a few moments, she was shaken back into reality by James who whispered, "Lils, that's you!". He smiled reassuringly and Lily walked up to the stool.  
  
McGonnagol placed the hat on top of her head and immediately she heard a voice seemingly coming from inside the hat. It was a low voice, with an almost defeated tone. "Ah, yes. Lily. Lily Evans. You do seem to be a fine student. Quite intelligent. Not at all evil, however you have the potential to become a powerful witch. Very loyal, as well, I see. Hmmm...Where should I put you...let's see...hmmm...ah yes. GRYFFINDOR!!" A sense of relief swept over Lily as she hopped off the stool to sit next to Sirius. James beamed at her and clapped loudly.  
  
"I knew you'd be a Gryffindor!" Sirius said with a smile as Lily sat down.  
  
"Haha, ya, sure Sirius." Lily sad sarcastically. She then began talking animatedly with her fellow Gryffindors, while hearing the random shouts in the background from the Sorting Hat. After her, there had been a "RAVENCLAW!", and then a "HUFFLEPUFF!", followed by two "SLYTHERIN!". By that point, she had ignored the others until she heard a faint, "Lupin, Remus". Sirius and Lily turned to watch their friend sit for quite some time to be sorted. After what seemed to have been at least five minutes, the Sorting Hat shouted, "GRIFFINDOR!". They all beamed as Remus joined Lily and Sirius at the Gryffindor table.  
  
"Remus, mate. Why did that old hat take so long? One too many heads to sit on top of?" Sirius finished with a grin.  
  
"Oh, er, it-it just didn't know where to put me. Said a wer-I was difficult to place." Lupin answered cautiously.  
  
Lily and Sirius gave him a suspicious look before watching the ceremony once again. Students were sorted fairly equally among the four houses. They could tell, however, that every student that seemed to have a, well, "evil" look about them was sorted into Slytherin. For others, It was almost impossible to tell where they would be sorted. Eventually the "P"s started. McGonnagol called, "Pettigrew, Peter" and the small, mousy haired boy Lily had noticed earlier approached the stool. The hat seemed to take even longer than it had on Remus to sort Peter. In the end, and to Lily's surprise, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!". The boy climbed down and sat amongst the Gryffindors, still giving off an uneasy feeling to Lily whenever she looked at him. Luckily, "Potter, James" was called next and her uneasiness melted. Almost immediately, the hat had shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" and James showed off his charming grin before joining his friends.  
  
"I can't believe we're all in the same house!" Lily said happily.  
  
"I told you Lils. No worries," James repeated grinning down at Lily, who felt as though she were melting. She blushed and looked away to continue her conversation with a few other girls sorted into Gryffindor, as well. The faint shouts of the various house names were heard in the background and one in particular caught James' attention.  
  
"Severus Snape? What a horrible name. What were his parents thinking?" he said mockingly.  
  
"Must've been drunk." Sirius answered quite seriously. They grinned at each other knowingly.  
  
The hat took several moments to shout, "SLYTHERIN!" and the boy, walked over to meet the rest of the Slytherins at their house table. Lily watched as the boy began a conversation with another Slytherin. The boy had greasy black hair and a rather large nose.  
  
"He's rather odd if you ask me." Lily said.  
  
"Well that's the understatement of the century." Remus retorted.  
  
Lily snorted with laughter and James and Sirius grinned mischievously again. Sirius leaned over and whispered to James, "He should be an interesting target, don't you think?". James nodded and grinned in response.  
  
* * *  
  
Soon enough, the Sorting Ceremony was over, and then the magnificent feast had begun. Lily had never met a bunch of boys that could eat as much as the ones surrounding her. Remus, wasn't as bad, however James and Sirius were another story. It was amazing that they were still able to move after the feast was over.  
  
The prefects of each house were told to lead the first years followed by the remaining students to their common rooms. James, Sirius, Remus, and to their disapproval, Peter Pettigrew would be rooming together in the first year boy's dormitory. Lily had been placed with the girl whom she had noticed before, Candace, as well as Candace's two best friends, Alexandra and Alexia, who happened to be twins. She was very pleased. The three girls had been waiting for Lily so they could hurry upstairs to see their dormitory together. Lily was amazed at how beautiful it was. The whole room had a magically air about it. It was nothing like her room at home. It was simply perfect. She quickly excused herself, however and ran back downstairs to find James, Sirius, and Remus, who were comfortably lounging on the couch and chairs in front of the fire. She chose to sit next to James who was conveniently on the couch.  
  
"Hey, Lils. We were just discussing how we-" James stopped from the look on Sirius' face as he shook it subtly. "-were...going to go for a stroll around the school" James finished coolly. Remus smirked.  
  
"Oh, really? Can I join you?" Lily asked hopefully.  
  
"NO!" Sirius retorted quickly. "Er, I mean no dearest. I don't think you'd want to come anyways. You'll just end up listening to us talk about men stuff. Nothing that you'd find interesting I daresay." Lily looked at him suspiciously, while James gave Sirius a pleading look that Lily hadn't noticed. Remus cut in.  
  
"C'mon Sirius. We can always put that off 'till tomorrow." Remus said emphasizing his last sentence. Sirius understood.  
  
"Ah, ok, your right. Men talk tomorrow." Sirius replied with a grin.  
  
"Well, shall we still go for a walk then?...In the presence of Lily of course." James said happily.  
  
"Wait-isn't it after hours? What if we get caught?" Lily said worriedly.  
  
"No worries, Lils. I was just telling these fine gentlemen of a gift my father had given me before I left." James smiled and got up from his seat to run up to his dormitory to apparently retrieve something. Lily watched him curiously. Moments later, James returned with what appeared to be a pile of the finest silk Lily had ever seen. James placed it on Lily's lap and she picked it up. It was extraordinary. It was so fine it felt like liquid.  
  
"James? What is it?" Lily asked uncertainly.  
  
"I'll show you. Come over here," James answered. They walked over to the large mirror in the common room, Lily still carrying the "silk" object. James took it from her and unfolded it to reveal that it was a cloak. He then threw the cloak over the both of them and Lily watched as her reflection disappeared. She could still see James and the cloak over them, however according the mirror, they weren't there.  
  
"Are-are we invisible?" she asked slowly.  
  
"Yup, it's called an invisibility cloak. My father once used it and it was handed down to me. You like it?" James asked.  
  
"It's incredible." Lily answered.  
  
"Alright you two, that's quite enough. Come out from under there." Remus said tauntingly.  
  
James brought a finger to his lips and whispered, "Shh!" before waving a hand for her to follow him under the cloak.  
  
"James? Lily? Ok, ok. Ha. Ha. Happy? You got your laugh. Now let's go before it gets even later." Sirius said sarcastically.  
  
James and Lily moved over in front of Sirius and Remus and were about to jump out from under the cloak when the two boys jumped up unexpectedly, knocking over James and Lily. They fell back onto the couch they had been sitting on before, however this time, Lily had landed on James. "Oof!" James let out. Lily snorted with laughter and took the invisibility cloak off of them. She was still on top of James.  
  
"S-sorry," Lily said through her laughter before getting up to help James up, as well. Sirius and Remus exchanged a knowing look before beaming.  
  
"No worries, Lils." He beamed. Lily and James just smiled at each other until they were brought back to reality.  
  
"Ah-hem." Remus said. "Well, NOW are we ready to go? Or do you expect Sirius and I to stare at each other lovingly, as well?" James and Lily blushed and turned to hide their smiles.  
  
"Let's go." Sirius said with a grin, taking the cloak from Lily and rapping it around the four of them. It was a tight fit, but Sirius and Remus knew perfectly well that at least Lily and James certainly didn't mind.  
  
A/N: Yay!! Chapter Three's done! Took me all day so far to write it. I wanted to make it long to make up for the last chapter. Hope ya liked it!! Pleez Review!!! I love getting them and they help a lot, trust me. LATA!!  
  
~Danni 


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